1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed toward a tool for handling a load-receiving container, and more particularly toward a carriage designed for use with a container hoist mounted on the frame of a container hauling truck.
2. Background Art
Containers for collecting refuse and other articles are commonly located in areas intended to provide convenient access to the containers, such that individuals who deposit items in the containers are not deterred from making use of them. Once a container becomes full, the container is transported to a central emptying site and an empty container is returned to the original location. One method of transporting a container is to hoist the container with a truck-mounted hydraulic loader and deliver the container to the emptying site. In order to hoist a container with a hydraulic loader, a carriage is coupled with the loader and then maneuvered into engagement with a container.
Typically, a carriage first is moved to the rearmost end of a truck bed. The hydraulic loader, which is commonly an articulated hoist, then is moved into engagement with a portion of the carriage. The truck is maneuvered to engage the carriage with the container, and the hydraulic loader is actuated to elevate the carriage and the container for subsequent transportation. The laborious process of connecting the carriage to the truck is time consuming and requires extensive manual effort.
In addition to the complexity of attaching the container, a significant problem exists with the use of present carriage arrangements. Due to the geometric relationship between truck-mounted hydraulic loaders and the direct connection between the carriage and the truck, it is impossible to draw the carriage and the container fully over the truck frame. Rather, the carriage only can be supported rearward of the truck frame with the hydraulic loader in an extended position. Transportation of the trailing carriage and container causes excessive stresses in the hydraulic loader and the truck frame and reduces the stability of a container supported by the carriage. This condition is intensified when a loaded container is supported on the carriage.
Because of the significant forces which act on the container-carrying truck when a container is supported in an extended loader position, it has heretofore been necessary to handle containers with massive, costly trucks, such as garbage packing trucks, which are better suited to accommodate the high forces. There is a need, therefore, for a container carriage which can be transported without generating undesirable forces levels in the transporting vehicle, such that less expensive, general purpose vehicles may be employed to safely handle the containers.